Saturday, February 14, 2009

Shiites: Usooli or Akhbari - 6

Amir Moghul

Bewakoof Insaan!! there is only one Shia sect all over the globe ‘Mashallah’, there are no sects within Shia’s as your maligned self try to portray, literal meaning of the word ‘Shia’ is Friend so whoever is the friend of Ahlul-bait-e- Rasul saww, he is a Shia’, [Asef]

aapko is baare me kya kahna hai? "Ayesha's entry onto the battlefield of Jamal was a violation of the Quran Allah (swt) states clearly with regards to the wives of Rasulullah (s):

"And stay quietly in your houses, and make not a dazzling display, like that of the former Times of Ignorance;...." Al-Quran 33:33 Comment Our contention is that Ayesha’s leaving her residence following the demise of the Holy Prophet [s] and accompanying into battle a rebellious male movement that opposed the Khalifa of the time, was an open violation of this verse. [fikarmand Musalman]

Another important off-shoot of Qiramtah is the Mubarikiyyah sect which gave birth to many other sects. Three of these sect out-matched others in public esteem and recognition.

Agha Khaniyyah or Nazadiyyah sect which follows Agha Khan

Bohra sect which is also known as Mustaliyyah.

Sulaimaniyah:

Each one of these sects has its own permanent set of beliefs and convictions. Some of them hold identical opinions while others hold diametrically opposed opinions. I have compiled a separate book in which I have discussed the historical background and evolutionary divergence of these sects. I have also discussed a length the principles on which they have raised the structure of their views and convictions in order to relate their quantum of deviation to the essence of its matrix. I have critically reviewed the opinions and comments of orientalists as well as of Egyptian, Ismaili, Suri and Hindi writers bearing on the topic. I have conducted a thorough psot mortem on the maimed and mangled bodies of their gaping mistakes, and outrageous historical and conceptul lapses. The book is replete with oven-fresh information on the real beliefs of these sects. Some of this information is culled form their old books but the information is filtered through the strainer of a rare sensitivity and understanding which is absolutely necessary for the balancing act on interpretation. Both the original and the published materials have been tapped to enhance the value of my research. I have pointed out objectively and unmalicioulsy the bloomers made by great personages in the fieldand pricked the bubble of their false reputations by underscoring their obvious lapses and thus proving the evanesence of their frame. Evne the topranking scholars who claim to be experts on the vies and beliefs of the Ismailiyyah sect and regard themselves as its undisputed care-takers have committed grave errors of perception and interpretation. Since I have devoted an independent book to the rankling issue, I would like to eschew further discussion on the subject and confine myself to quoting excerpts form the books by Shia and Sunni writers who have written on the genesis and evoultion of Shia sects.

Duruzi:

This sect derives from the Ismailiyyah sect and shares many of its basic beliefs. It sprang up during the priod of Fatimi Caliph Hakim who had taken over as the governor of Egypt in 390 A.H. after the death of his father. At that time he was only eleven years old. The murder of one of his chief opponents in 390 A.H. lent stability to his otherwise doddering regime.

His disloyal and fair-weather companions tried to capitalize on his lack experience and other pursuits of the flesh, including his penchant for culinary feats. The people who surrounded him like a halo and pretended to sanctify even his most outrageous acts, were in fact the atheistic claimants of the Ismailis who had been especially send by the Persians and the Zoroastrians to keep tabs on the inexperienced and debauch king. He was completely under their influence and they kept up the façade of his divinity with great ingenuity and packaged him in highly consmeticized colous. Of these atheists, those in the vanguard were Hamzah bin Ali Ahmad Zozni, Muhammad bin Ismail Durzi, Hassan bin Haidrah Farghani and an other person known by the title of Ukhram or Ajda.

These people had reached a point of no return in their deviation from religion. The historians suggest that a systematic campaign for the affirmation and acknowledgement of Hakim's divinity was lauched in the beginning of 408 A.H., and it was the most fundamental article of their faith. Duruzia were sworn to offer the following prayer:

"I believe in Allah. My creator is Hakim who is superior and sublime. He is the lord of the east and weat. He is the God of origins. He has created beings with and without speech. He possesses perfect shape on account of his inner light. He lives in the highest sphere and is seated on Empyrean heights. Then he descended and came closer. I have faith in him and I have to return to him. For him is this world and the next world and his is both the appearance and the reality"

"I also believe the Prophets who were men of determinaltion and who possessed inner illumination, who are the englightened souls and God's blessings are decked out around them. I aslo believe in the eight angels who carry God's throne. I also believe in all the restrictive clauses of my faith. I acknowledge whatever comes to me from my master, whenter it is a positive posture or a negative gesture. I now only blieve in it but also act on it. I have entrusted my self, life, property my inner self and outer self to my master, and I pledge that I will wage Jehad in the way of the master both verbally and practically, psychologically and physically, with my self, property, children and with whatever else I possess. And my confession is withnessed by whatever appeared in the east and by whatever died in the west.

"My covenant control and guides my self and my sould and I make this statement in a state of complete sanity. I also confess at this juncture that nobody has forced me to do so nor am I a hypocrite. My withness is my master. He guides those who follow him and punishes those who disobey him and turn apostate i.e., Hamzah bin Ali Ahmad who set the sun of beginning into motion and made the cloud of blessing burst. I dissociate myself from all the old and new religious and convictions and affirm faith only in the commads of my master Hakim and I'll never assign any partner to him and I'll worship him alone".

They also believed in transmigratin an metempsychosis. When someone dies, his suld is transferred into the body of a newborn. Similarly invisibility and resurrection are also crucial ingredients of their faith. It means that Hakim disappeared as part of divine preordination and will reppear near Kaaba. This is a common denominatior among the various Shia sects. Ibn Taimiya observes: "Duruzis are the followers of Hashtkin Duruzi who was one of the slave-lords of Hakim whom he had despatched to the people Tim-Ullah bin Thalbah. He invited them to acknowledge Hakim's divinity. They addressed Hakim as Alam and swore by his name. They also belong to the Ismailiyyah sect. They believe that Muhammad bin Isamil had nullified the Sharia of Muhammad bin Abdullah. They outrival all the extremist sects in the outrageousness of their infidelity. They deny the basic Islamic sanctites and disacknowledge the accountability of the next world. They also belong to Qiramtah and Batiniyyah and exceed even the Jews, the Christians and the disbelievers of Arabia in the pervasiveness of their infidelity. They admire Aristotle and other philosophers of his vintage and they are also deeple cast in the Zoroastrian dye. They express their Shiaism not as a matter of faith but only as a tactical measure to create rift among the Muslims.

Shaikh-ul-Islam condemns their heretic views and underscores the Muslims consensus in their joint condemnation. Any one who doubts their infidelity is in fact himself an infidel. They are even worse than the people of the Book. They are outright infidels and are completely out of balance. It is prohibited to dine with them. Their women can be converted into slaves and their goods can be confiscated. They are infidels and apostates. They are not even allowed to repent because their repentance is unacceptable. Wherever they are caught, they should be immediately executed and they should be cursed and maligned. It is also unlawful to employ them as watch-keepers, gate-keepers and as body-gurads. It is equally permissible to murder their saints and scholars so that they may not misguide other people. It is prophibited to sleep with them in their houses, to be friendly with them, to keep their company and to participate in their burials, and it is prohibited for the Muslim rulers to violate Quranic injunctions about them.

These were the sects that came into existence during the period of Jafar bin Baqir and drew their nourishment form the general climate of opinion. They express a difference of opinion with other Shias inspite of their heritage of Sabai views:

Musa Kazim [May Allah have mercy on his soul]:

People who believed in the Imamat of Musa bin Jafar split into various groups during his life and after his death. Nau Bakhti says: People who followed Musa bin Jafar had no difference of opinion about his Imamat. They stuck to their belief in him even though he had been arrested and imprisoned twice. But after his second term of imprisoned twice. But after his second term of imprisonment they developed doubts about his Imamat and lauched a questioning campaign about his credentials as Imam. He had died in Harun's prison and those who believed in his Imamat disbanded into five factions. It happened in 183 A.H.

One of these factions is of the opinion that he died as a captive of Sindi bin Shahak. Yahya bin Khalid Barmiki sent him some poisoned grapes and dates and he died as a result of eating them. And after Musa, Ali bin Musa Radha is the Imam. This sect is called Qatiyyah because it holds a definite and irrefutable belief in the death of Musa bin Jafar and after him in the Imamat of his son Ali. Their belief is absolute and definitive andis not marked by any streak of doubts and suspicion.

The second faction believes that Musa bin Jafar did not actually die: he is still alive, and he will not go off the hook until he rules over the entire world and relieves it of the burden of oppression and inequity. They also believe that Musa is also Mahdi. He had come out of the prison cell in broad daylight but no body could spot him out nor did any one know about his where-abouts. The king and his companins claimed in sheer deseration that he had pegged out while he was languishing in jail. In this way they hoisted a lie on the innocent people. The fact was that he had gone under cover and become invisible to the people. They have also related a number of traditions which ar attributed to his father. For example, he stated that Musa is eternally present. He confirmed the news that even if he hurls his head from a mountain, you should not believe in it because he is the standing Imam. This faction is also called Muswiyyah on account of its perennial vigil for Musa bin Jafar. Its other designation is Mufadhilah on account of its affiliation with the name of its chief Mufdhil bin Umar who enjoyed an enviable status among them. They are also known as Manturiyyah. This designation derives from the fact that when they articulated their specific beliefs, some of the people told them that they were "Kalab Mamturah" i.e., the dogs who had been thoroughly drenched by rain. Since their views were extremely disgraceful, they were adorned with the ugly title. The other explanation is that people avoided their company and snubbed them openly on account of their dirty and swinish beliefs and turned them away like dogs drenched in rain. Ibn Hazm has mentioned them in "Al-Fasl".

They are of the views that Musa is the standing Imam and he is dead and until he reappears, no one can lay any claim to Imamat. He will re-emerge as "Qaim" Imam. They also believe that he has been resurrected after his death but he is leading a veiled existence. He is still alive and actively though invisibily engaged in acts of piety. His companions not only perceive him but also hold meetings with him. They have reported a number of traditions from his father which confrim that he is "Qaim" because he will rise after his death.

The third faction holds on to the opinion that he has popped off and that he is also the "Qaim" Imam. They add that he resembles Christ and has not been resurrected as yet. However, he will be resurrected on the day of judgement and redeem the world full of oppression and injustice. His father had expressed that he resembled Christ and he would die at the hands of the children of Abbas. And he was murdered by them.

The fourth faction is not sure whether he is dead or alive as there are a number of traditions which attest to the fact that he is the "Qaim" Imam and the promised Mehdi. Thus they think it is sheer bad manners to contradict all these traditions. Since they believe in the validity of the traditions about his forefathers, they also don not like to show aversion ore revulsion to the traditions about him because these traditions are explicit, popular and continuous. Therefore their contradictions flouts all rules of propriety and decency. Death is inevitable and God does whatever He chooses to do. Therefore they would like to suspend their judgement as far as acknowledgement of his life and death is concerned. They also believed in his Imamat and they genuinely desired to sort out fiction from reality and compare his claim with the cliam of the person who pretended to be the active Imam i.e. Ali bin Musa Radha. If his Imamat was valid as was his father's and it was established on the basis of arguments that he had acknowledged his Imamat as well as the death of his father, they would believe him. It was not possible to trust the traditions of his companions. The issue needed further proof and justification.

This fifth sect is "Bashriya". Nau Bakhti says that they are the companions of Muhammad bin Bashir who was the lord of Banu Asad in Kufah. This sect believes that Musa bin Jafar has not shuffled off this mortal coil. He had not been imprisoned either. He is alive, invisible, eternal and he is also the Mehdi. When he was about to disappear, he appointed Muhammad bin Bashir as his Caliph and made him his executor. He entrusted all the affairs to him and appointed him as his preceptor. It obviously means that Muhammad bin Bashir is the Imam after him. Muhammad bin Bashir at the time of his death proposed his son Sami bin Muhammad bin Bashir to be his successor. Thus he is the Imam after him and it is binding on the Ummah to obey him till the reappearance of Musa. The people are expected to discharge their financial obligations towards him and seed God's pleasure through him as he is the bonafide Imam. They believe that Ali bin Musa and other self-styled Imams among his children had a tainted birth. They have negated their credentials and called them infidels on account of their false and unjust claims to Imamat. People who subscribe to their Imamat are also infidels and it is lawful to approptiate their Imamat are also infidels and it is lawful to appropriate their lives and properties. They also believe that God has prescribed only five prayers and fasting during Ramadhan. They deny Zakat, pilgrimage and other obligatory acts. They think it is lawful to marry women who have been declared unlawful by the Quran and the Sunnah and they possess a soft corner for homo-sexual and lesbian practices, and they bolster their perverse belief with the help of the following Quranic verse which is a further illustration of their perversity

(Or He blesses them with both sons and daughters) 42:50 Besides they are convinced of the inevitability of transmigration and in their opinion all the Imams are in fact physical extensions of the same body who are involved in a continuous process of transferrence from one corporeal fram to another. Therefore it is binding on every one to respect and obey them. Whatever they proposed or desired is in fact intended for the consumption of Sami bin Muhammad and his legal successors.

Kashi observed in his "Rijal" in reference to Muhammad bin Bashir that when Abul Hassan gave up the ghost and a period of stasis followed, Muhammad bin Bashir appeared on the scene to fill up the vacuum. He had a great reputation for legerdemain. He behaved like a chameleon and was adept in varying his poses to suit the exigencies of the occasion or the nuances of the moment. He staked out the claim that Imamat had ceased with the appearance of Musa bin Jafar. He was an entity of flesh and bone. Every body could see him and had access to him. But he could change himself instantly. To the enlightened and pious people he appeared as a man overflowing with piety but to the prejudiced and the impious he appeared as an embodiment of flesh. The folds and layers of secrecy intervened between the entrie universe and his personality and he became impenetrable to the physical range of the human eye. That is, though he is eternally present, people can not perceive him as a physical entity as they used to do in the past.

This Muhammad bin Bashir was one onf the lords of Banu Asad in Kufah. His companions cherish the notion that Musa bin Jafar has not hopped the twig, and he was not clapped behind the bars either but he simply disappeared and went under cover. He is also the Imam Mahdi. At the time of his disappearance he nominated Muhammad bin Bashir as his successor. He formally made him his executor also. He gave him his ring, his knowledge and whatever else his people were in need of. He entrusted all the affairs to him, religious as well as wordly matters and made him his preceptor. It means that after him Imam Muhammad bin Bashir is the bona fide Imam. Those who profess the Imamat of others are infidels in their eyes and for them their goods and belongings are lawful. It is part of their conviction that only those who express allegiance to Muhammad are the genuine followers; the others are a breed of bogus pretenders. Muhammad is the creator and he enters into the body of each one of his followers. He is nobody's father nor is he any one's son and he is hidden among the folds and layers of secrecy. In addition to this sect, Mukhsimah, Aliyawiyyah and the companions of Abul Khatab believe that any one who professes allegiance to the children of Muhammad (peace be upon him) professes a false allegiance. They go even further and declare that he professes false allegiance to God also and indulges in a while articulation of lies. And these are the Jews and the Christians who are the addressees of the following Quranic verse:

(The Jews and the Christians claim that they are the sons and darlings of God. Then why does He punish you on account of your misdeeds? You are of course like other human beings among His creatures)

Muhammad, according to Khitabiyyah religion, and Ali, according to Aliyawiyyah religion, are also among the people who have been created by God but actually their claim is false because they believe that Muhammad and Ali are the creators who have neither been engendered by any one nor have they engendered any one.

Muhammad bin Bashir's murder:

Besides being a trickster he was also one of those who believed in the discontinuity of Imamat after Ali bin Musa. He believed in Musa's divinity and claimed himself to be a prophet. He made an effigy of Abul Hassan and dressed it in silk robes. He guilded it with the help of medicines and sculpted it in such a manner that it looked like a living replica of the dead man. It was a folding effigy. When he wanted to display his sleight-of-hand, he filled it with the air in his mouth. When the statue was fully blown, it resembled a living human being. He told his companions that Abul Hassan was staying with him and if they wanted to have a glimpse of him as well to confirm that he was his prophet, they could visit him and see him at his residence. When the people visited him at his house, he folded the statue before he called them in. Then he would ask them if they spotted anyone else except him and themselves. Later he asked them to slip out while he hid himself behind the curtain. Then he placed the statue before them and pushed aside the curtains. They found themselves face to face with a living human being who perfectly resembled Abul Hassan. The resemblance was so perfect that their sense of familiarity was not outraged. He also came over from behind the curtain, stood beside them and assured them through his magical tricks that they were coversing in whispers with Abul Hassan himself. Then he gestured them to leave. Before they went too far away, he hung a curtain between himself and the statue and when they looked back, they found nothing. He knew many magical tricks and people were simply swept away by his ingenuity. He kept on dabbling in his tricks until the news reached the Caliph of the times. Probably it was the reign of Harun or his immediate successor. The Caliph wanted to put him to death but he said: O Amir-ul-Mominin! don't kill me because I can make a number of things for you which the kings are quite fond of. The king released him. Frist of all, he set the pails of the well in order and placed mercury between the planks. He filled the pails with water and the planks with mercury. When the mercury travelled from the planks towards the pails, they ecpanded in girth even when there was no one to supervise the process. In this way water easily reached the garden. It pleased the king immensely. Besides, he made a number of other things as well. He tried to vie with God by creating paradise. The Caliph welcomed him and elevated his stature. But one day the planks came apart and the mercury spilled out of them which crippled the entire system. Thus his house of cards collapsed and his tricks were exposed to his utter consternation.

During the same period, two of his cousins also staked out their claim for Imamat. One of them was Hussain bin Ali bin Hassan bin Hassan Mithna bin Hassan bin Ali. His mother was Zainab bint Abdullah bin Hassan bin Hassan bin Ali. He claimed Imamat during the reign of the Abbasi Caliph Abu Musa Hadi who also happened to be the grandson of Abu Jafar Mansur.

Asfahani states that with the exception of Hassan bin Jafar bin Hassan Mithna, all the Talibin had pledged fealty at his hand. He did not force him into allegiance because he had offered his apologies. Besides, Musa bin Jafar bin Muhammad who is the seventh Imam of the Shias-also declined to swear allegiance to him. Uniza Qasbani writes: I saw that late in the evening Musa bin Jafar came over to see Hussain of Fiskh. He knealed before him and said to him: Since I lag behind others in my pledge, I would like it very much if I am set free. Hussain kept his head low for a long time and did not utter a word. Then a raised his head and said: you are at liberty.

Kulaini in his 'Kafi' has related in the context of this episode on the authority of Abdullah bin Mufdhil Maula Abdullah bin Jafar bin abi Talib that when Hussain bin Ali had revolted in Fiskh and besieged Madinah, he invited Musa bin Jafar to pledge fealty at his hand. He called on him and said to him: O my cousin! don't torture me the way your cousin had tortured Abu Abdullah so that I may not react in a way I have never intended to react, the way Abu Abdullah had reacted though he had absolutely no intention to do so. Hussain replied: I have only placed my proposal before you. You can accept it if you like, and if you don't like it, I'll not force you into it.

The other man, who came out with his claim to Imamat, was Yahya bin Abdullah bin Hassan al-Mithna. Kulaini has also mentioned him:

He wrote in his invitation to Musa bin Jafar: tell me who are the people who, inspite of your disgraceful attitude, have come to me because they are sincerely interested in the propagation of God's religion. I have kept my invitation under cover as your father had kept it under cover. You over-publicized and over-exposed yourself though you have fulfilled none of the promises (you made to the people). You misguided them and I am warning you against it. God Himself has warned people against the pursuit of selfish ends. Abul Hassan Musa bin Jafar wrote back: you say that I have created disaffection against you among the people because I covet your Imamat. I warn you against the wrath of the Caliph and request you to obey him. I also ask you very humbly that you should seek protection for yourself before you are driven into a tight corner and find no outlet to escape, except the mild attitude ot the Caliph through divine intercession. May God keep him alive and he may allow you to live in peace and security and spare you on account of your geneological link with the Prophet (peace be upon him).

It is believed that Harun Rashid took him along when he returned to Madinah after the performance of Umrah, and he was still in his personal custody when he left for the pilgrimage. And when he returned through Basrah, he handed him over to Sadi bin Shahak as his prisoner and he died in Baghdad on 25 Rajab 183 A.H. during imprisonment. At the time of his death , he was fifty-four or fifty-five years of age and he was buried in the Quraish graveyard.

Shias during the period of Ali bin Musa Raza [May Allah have mercy on his soul]:

Ali bin Musa Radha was the father-in-law of Mamun's daughter. After his death, the shias who clustered round him, were divided in their opinions. One sect among them believed that after him his brother Ahmad bin Musa bin Jafar was the Imam because he had specified his Imamat. They believed that both brothers were bonafide Imams and, as a result of their conviction, they acknowledged Ali bin Musa as the Imam.

One of these sects was known as Muhaddithah. They had faith in the sanctity of hadith, and therefore, out of conviction, they acknowledged the Imamat of Musa bin Jafar. After him, they conferred Imamat on Ali bin Musa. The fact is that they had no firm faith in Shiaism. They adopted it only out of pretense and diplomacy. Therefore when Ali bin Musa died, they conveniently switched back to their former belief which was a hotch-potch of superstition and expediency.

Another sect was Zaidiyyah which comprised people with greater conviction and insight. They pledged at the hand of Ali bin Musa when Mamun had publicly acclaimed him as a pious man. They pledged at his hand only as a formality and as a show of false loyalty because inwardly they held on to their own beliefs. For a period of time they persisted in their pretense and expressed their loyalty to him, but, as soon as he died, they returned to their old convictions.

Another sect is of the opinion that Ali bin Musa his son Muhammad bin Ali Is the acknowledged Imam. In his presence no one else was entitled to Imamat. There were some other sects also which expressed allegiance to a group of Talibin who had claimed Imamat during the period of Radha and invited people to endorse their claim. Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Ismail bin Ibrahim bin Hassan Mithna bin Hassan bin abi Talib, who was popularly known as Ibn Taba Taba, also belonged to this sect. Besides Muhammad him Yahya bin Yahya bin Zaid bin Ali bin Hussain bin Ali, Muhammad bin Jafar (Ali Radha's uncle), Ibrahim bin Musa bin Jafar (Ali Radha's brother) and Hussain bin Hassan bin Ali bin bin Ali Zain-ul-Abidin etc also boasted of their adherence to the sect.

Asfahani in his "Maqatil-ut-Talibin" and Masudi in his "Muruj-uz-Zahb"hani in his "Maqatil-ut-Talibin" and Masudi in his "Muruj-uz-Zahb" have mentioned all of these sects, their beliefs, their revolt against Mamun, their capture of some towns and areas, and their confrontations on the battlefield with the Abbasi armies. I will give a brief account of the revolt of Alvis and their claim to Imamat basing it chiefly on Masudi's observations.

In 199 A.H. Abu As-Saraya Sari bin Mansur revolted in Iraq. He gathered a large number of people about him and carried substantial weight in the eyes of his opponents. Ibn Taba Taba had also extended his support to him. In Madinah Muhammad bin Sulaiman bin Daud bin Hassan bin Hassan bin Ali had revolted and in Basrah his example was paralelled by Ali bin Muhammad bin Jafar bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Hassan bin Ali and he was supported by Zaid bin Musa bin Jafar bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Hussain bin Ali and they captured Basrah as a result of their successful revolt.

Ibn Taba Taba died the same year. After his death Abu As-Saraya came all out with his support for Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Yahya bin Zaid bin Ali bin Hussain bin Ali. The same year in Yemen (119 A.H.) Ibrahim bin Musa bin Jafar bin Muhammad bin Ali Hassan bin Ali appeared while during the tenure of Mamun Muhammad bin Jafar bin Muhammad bin Ali Hussain appeared in the suburbs of Makkah and Hijaz. It happened in 200 A.H. He invited people to express their allegiance to him. The Shia sect Sibtiyyah reinforced his invitation and acknowledged his Imamat. Later they themselves split into a number of sects. They only varied in the degree of their transgression and followed essentially the course charted by Imamiyyah. I have referred to the number of Talibin who appeared during the reign of Banu Abbas in my book "Al-Maqalat fi Usul ad-Deyanat' and "Akhbar-uz-Zaman." It is also stated that Muhammad bin Jafar extended Ibn Taba Taba's invitation to the people in the initial stages, especially during his period of bloom, but after the death of Ibn Taba Taba he stuck out his own claim to Imamat and became the self-styled Amir-ul-Mominin. There is not a single person among the children of Muhammad (peace be upon him) except this Muhammad bin Jafar who acquired the label of Amir-ul-Mominin. He was called "silk" on account of his physical charm and attraction. Ibn Aftas also appeared in Madinah during the reign of Mamun. In the beginning he invited people to embrace the Imamat of Taba Taba but after his death he changed the gear and invited people to embrace his own Imamat. Then he left for Makkah and contacted people when they were at Mina. Daud bin Isa bin Musa Hashmi was Amir-ul-Hajj in that year. Daud took to his heels when he heard the news of his arrival. People left for Urfah and from there they left for Muzdilfah. At that time they were without an Imam. Ibn Aftas visited Mukaf during the night and from there he made a dash for Muzdilfah. Since the people were still without Imam, he led the prayers and they prayed behind him. Then he left for Mina. He offered a sacrifice there. He then entered Makka and disrobed the house of Allah (Bait-Ullah) leaving only the white cover untouched.

It is worth mentioning that Mamun had appointed Ali bin Musa as his heir-apparent. Mufid has stated that Mamun had deputed two of his ministers Hassan bin Sahl and Fadhal bin Sahal to place before Ali bin Musa his offer to appoint him as his successor. But Ali declined the offer. However he finally accepted it on the repeated insistence of the ministers. Mamun was immensely pleased. On thursday Fadhal bin Sahl came out of the court and announced to the people outside Mamun's decision to appoint Ali bin Musa as the heir apparent who had also conferred on him the epithet Radha. He added that Mamun had ordered them to wear green dress and come to the court on the following thursday to take the oath of allegiance at his hand, and to collect their annual stipends. Thus on the stipulated day, the officers, the courtiers and the justice etc came to the court wearing green robes and settled down in their seats. Mamun also took his seat. Two giant-size pillows were placed for Radha and they were almost adjoined to Harun's seat. Redha was ensconced against the two pillows in his green apparel. He was wearing a turban on his head and a sword dangled at his hand first of all the persons. Then the people followed suit and swore allegiance to him. The speakers and the poets then showered praises on Radha. Mamun asked him to stand up and address the people. Radha first praised the Lord and then stressed his claim over them. He emphasised mutual rights that existed between him and the people. If they fulfilled their rights and discharged their obligations, he would also respond by fulfilling his rights and discharging his obligations. And he asserted that his claim was justified on account of his link with holy Prophet (peace be upon him). Mamun ordered his name to be engraved on the coins. Ishaq bin Musa bin Jafar spliced him to the daughter of his uncle Ishaq bin Muhammad. He was appointed Amri-ul-Hajj the same year and sermons were delivered in every town to highlight the fact of Radha's succession. But he died during the life of Mamun before he could take over the reins of Khilafat.

Mamun tried to conceal his death for twenty four hours. Then he sent for Muhammad bin Jafar Sadiq and a party of the progeny of Ali Talib who were present on the occasion. When they reached there, he informed them about the death of Radha. While delivering the news of his death he broke into a torrent of tears and expressed immeasurabled grief. Then he led them to Radha's corpse which was in perfect condition. Mamun addressed the dead body and said: O my brother, it is excruciating for me to see you in this state. I expected to kick the bucked before you but God's will prevails over our wishes. Then on Mamun's orders he was given the final bath and wrapped in a coffin after performing the necessary rites. Mamun also gave the funeral his shoulder and accompained it to the spot where he lies buried today. This spot is known as Dar Hamid bin Qahtibah which is actually called the settlement of Sanabad at Nau Qan in Tus. The graves of Harun Rashid and Abul Hassan are also located in this area.

As far as I know Ali bin Musa Radha left behind him only Imam Abu Jafar Muhammad bin Ali. At the time of his father's death he was only seven years and some months old. It should be noted that he died in Safar 203 A.H. when he entered the fifty-five years ofhis life. His mother was Um-ul-Banin.

Shias during the period of Muhammad bin Ali:

A serious rift came to surface among the Shias about the Imamat of Radha's son Muhammad bin Ali who was known by the title of Jawad or Taqi, because he had not entered the age of puberty at the time of his father's death, as is already stated. They drew themselves away from him and insisted that puberty was a necessary pre-requisite of Imamat. If God had commanded us to obey an adolescent, He would have also ordered the adolescent to obey His injunctions. Just as it is unlawful to declare a non-adult as "Mukallaf", similarly he is not legally empowered to arbitrate among people. He can not grasp the subtleties and intricacies involved in the solution of problems; he is not fully conversant with religious injunctions and the rules and regulations of Sharia. The Sharia introduced by the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) which is the basic need of the Ummah till the arrival of the doomsday is obviously beyond the range of an adolescent's comprehension. If a non-adolescent can handle these complicated and sensitive issues, then we can also excpet a child who is in his cradle and swings to the rhythms and melodies of nursery rhymes, to show an awareness of these issues and to suggest solutions to dis-entangle their knots. But it all sounds absurd because adolescence is not the same things as non-adolescence and a child can not rationally be expected to behave like a grown-up person. The perceptions and reflections of the former do not operate at the same wave lengts as those of the latter.

People who are convinced of the Imamat of Abu Jafar Muhammad bin Ali differ on the state of his knowledge during the non-adolescent phase. Some of them suggested that only a scholar could claim himself to be an Imam. Abu Jafar was a non-adult. His father had died. Therefore they wondered how he had imbibed the knowledge he laid calim to. They countered their cat-like curiosity with the suggestion that it was not necessary for him to have acquired his knowledge from his father because he was only four years old when his father was taken to Khorasan and a child of his age obviously lacks the capability to grasp the minor and major issues of his faith. Therefore, at the time of his puberty, God injected into him knowledge of problems and issues through various channels: for example inspiration and prophecy, true dreams, dialogue with the angles etc. All these channels of information are established through convention and it is not proper to refute or contradict them.

There were still others who subscribed to the view that the right to Imamat was exclusively his. It is established by the confirmation of his Imamat before the age of puberty. The pre-adolescent confirmation carried the divine guarantee that he would receive the necessary knowledge at the time of his induction into the age of adolescence. Since the chain of revelation has been snapped after the death of the holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and this belief is supported by the consensus of the entire Ummah, therefore information alone is no solution to the immensity of the problem. Revelation is a consequence of reflection on the reality of things and not of the mere accumulation of factual information. Facts go only part of the way and they do not touch the strings of the heart and the spirit. Though inspiration has priority over information no one can learn the rules and injunctions of Sharia through inspiration. One who has a reflective disposition is blessed with an enlightened heart, possesses sound reason, and has an active mind, will obviously fail to grasp religious problems and issues if he has not been properly indoctrinated into them. Through reasons and rationality alone he can not arrive at the conclusion that the noon prayer has four, the evening prayer has three and predawn prayer has two obligatory units (rakt). These problems can not be solved through the perfection of reason and the instrumentality of reflection because they belong to the realm of instruction and information. Thus it sounds absurd that these problems can be discovered through the agency of revelation. Therefore I affirm that Abu had received the necessary knowledge at the time of his adolescence as part of the heritage that had come down to him in the form of books and relevant guide lines. Some Shia sects believe that the Imam is innocent and his surmises and guesses possess the stature of rules and regulations. He is immune to the lapses and errors of ordinary human beings on account of his ectraordinary status. But the stand of these Shias only reflected their helpessness because there was no other way to justify the acceptable level of instruction of their non-adolescent Imam.

There are still others who believe that the Imam is adult by definition even if he is physically a minor because he embodies the justification of divine presence. He can also imbibe knowledge through inspiration, reason, angelic discourse etc. Thus Abu Jafar received knowledge through these channels. His forefathers had acquired knowledge through similar sources because they were also the embodiments of divine justification on earth. They have specifically mentioned the name of Hadhrat Yahya bin Zikriyyah. God had blessed him with knowledge during his childhood. They also quote Isa bin Miriyam and the child who had verbally intervened in the affair between Yousaf and the king's wife. They cite the example of Sulaiman bin Daud as well that God had blessed him with the power to understand and resolve complicated issues without the crutches of acquired knowledge. They intend to prove that God conferred special status on them even though they were not adolescents in the eyes of people.

Muhammad bin Ali was born in Madinah in 195 A.H. and died in Baghdad in 220 A.H. It means he left the world at a very young age of twenty five. His mother was Nobiyyah though she was popularly known as Samibah and he was married to Um-ul-Fadhl, Mamun's daughter, which means out of the two sisters one was married to the father and the other to the son.

During his period a Hussaini also came out with his claim to Imamat. He was Muhammad bin Qasim bin Ali bin Umar bin Ali Zain-ul-Abidin bin Hussain bin Ali bin abi Talib. According to Masudi, a large crowd of people leaped towards him to pledge fealty at his hand. On account of the flesh of his popularity Abdullah bin Zahir kidnapped him and produced him before Motasim who imprisoned him in a big house that was built in a garden of "Sur man Ra'i". Some people believe that he was prisoned. Others believe that some of the Taliqani Shias wangled their appointment as gardeners in that garden. They used ropes as ladders, broke into the house and dragged him out. They kidnapped him and what followed is wrapped in mystery. A large number of followers of Zaidiyyah sect are also convinced of his Imamat. This happened in 322 A.H. Many of them believe that he is not dead but alive and he is a regular recipient of the divine bounty and when he revolts again, he will relieve the world of tyranny and oppression and fill it with justice and equity. He is also the Mehdi of the Ummat. The majority of people who hold these beliefs are settled in the suburbs of Kufah, and the hills of Tabristan and Dilam as well as in Kharasan.